Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 4, 2019. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

As Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continues to weather near relentless attacks from conservatives over her dress, dance moves, and other similarly petty and gendered complaints, critics of the young Latina congresswoman stooped to a new low on Wednesday by publicizing and circulating a fake “nude selfie” of her.

The Daily Caller, a conservative outlet co-founded by Fox News host Tucker Carlson, shared an image of a woman showing her bare feet and holding a vape pen in the bath. “Here’s the photo some people described as a nude selfie of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,” the headline read. The outlet’s decision to share the photo came despite the fact that the image, which has been circulating on the internet for over a month, was long ago debunked as fake. In wake of public outrage, The Daily Caller has since deleted the tweet and accompanying article.

In response, Ocasio-Cortez handled this latest bizarre attack on her political credibility with characteristic fire and aplomb.

“GOP have been losing their mind + frothing at the mouth all week, so this was just a matter of time,” she wrote on Twitter. “There is also a Daily Mail reporter (Ruth Styles) going to my boyfriend’s relative’s homes+offering them cash for ‘stories.’ Women in leadership face more scrutiny. Period.”

Ocasio-Cortez also took the time to respond to a social media user who suggested that the GOP’s unceasing attacks on the young congresswoman were “designed to shame all young women into thinking they should not/could not run for office — that old videos or pictures or rumors of them would surface, that they could never dress/act/speak unimpeachably enough.”

“If they want to make an example out of me, I will gladly be one. Hopefully we can be an example of dedication, courage, and persistence under fire. Or compassion, thoughtfulness, curiosity, justice, and zeal. I also hope to be an example of not tolerating nonsense, too,” she wrote back.

If they want to make an example out of me, I will gladly be one.

Hopefully we can be an example of dedication, courage, and persistence under fire.

Last week, Ocasio-Cortez also defended herself from another lame attempt at discrediting her after conservatives shared a video of her in college performing a rendition of the iconic dance scene from The Breakfast Club. In response, Ocasio-Cortez recorded a new video of herself dancing outside her congressional office that has since been viewed more than 20 million times.